OSU Food scientists Wrolstad and Park, honored nationally

August 10, 2007

Ron Wrolstad

CORVALLIS, Ore. - Ronald Earl Wrolstad, distinguished professor emeritus in the Department of Food Science and Technology at Oregon State University, has received the 2007 William V. Cruess Award for excellence in teaching food science and technology.

This annual award was presented to Wrolstad by the Institute of Food Technologists at its 2007 meeting in Chicago. The award honors outstanding individuals, teams and organizations for their contributions to the profession of food science and technology.

Wrolstad taught two of the more-popular courses in his department at OSU. In one course, called "Maraschino Cherry," Wrolstad instructed students about food additives, sensory analysis and process engineering using examples from the maraschino cherry processing industry in Oregon. OSU food scientists with the Oregon Agricultural Experiment Station developed the modern maraschino cherry in the 1920s.

In teaching another popular course, "Functional Foods," Wrolstad's students said he is "lively, interactive and dedicated." Past students selected him for inclusion in the 1996 Who's Who Among America's Teachers.

Wrolstad's research at OSU focuses on the chemical composition of foods, including using natural plant pigments, such as anthocyanin for their health benefits and use as food colorants. The work of Wrolstad and other OSU researchers in this area was featured in the magazine, Oregon's Agricultural Progress.

Jae Park, another professor in the Department of Food Science and Technology at OSU, also was honored at the meeting by being named a fellow of the association. Park studies seafood proteins and surimi production at OSU's Seafood Research Laboratory at Astoria. Park's work has also been featured in Oregon's Agricultural Progress.